Fury FC trending in right direction with second straight victory

Fury FC 2, Atlanta United 0

A winning streak numbering just two games should not be front-page news. It shouldn’t even be termed a streak.

That’s unless, of course, a team hasn’t won back-to-back games in like 50 weeks.

The Ottawa Fury FC were just that, 15 days shy of the anniversary of their last ‘epic’ two-game run of success, before Steeven Dos Santos and Carl Haworth scored 10 minutes apart in the opening half to carry the Fury past the Atlanta United 2-0 in front of a crowd of 4,296 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at TD Place.

And after going winless through their first six, the Fury FC have almost overnight jumped up into the middle of the United Soccer League’s Eastern Conference tables, with a playoff spot within sight after consecutive wins for the first time since last May 20 and 27.

The Fury FC will try and so something they didn’t do all of 2017 and that’s win a third in a row next Saturday night in Charleston, S.C., against the fourth-place Battery.

After that, the Fury like their chances even better in a three-game, eight-day homestand beginning May 25 against the Bethlehem Steel, then continuing with games against Toronto FC II and Charlotte Independence.

Ottawa Fury FC #3 Eddie Edward takes the ball down the field with Atlanta United 2 #30 Andrew Carleton during the game at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC #88 Kevin Oliveira gets the ball around Atlanta United 2 during the game at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC #8 Steevan Dos Santos points to the crowd after scoring a goal against the Atlanta United 2 at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC #8 Steevan Dos Santos celebrates with #22 Jamar Dixon after scoring a goal against the Atlanta United 2 at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC celebrate after #8 Steevan Dos Santos scored in the first half against the Atlanta United 2 at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC celebrate after #9 Carl Haworth scored in the first half against the Atlanta United 2 at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC celebrate after #8 Steevan Dos Santos scored in the first half against the Atlanta United 2 at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Ottawa Fury FC celebrate after #9 Carl Haworth scored in the first half against the Atlanta United 2 at TD Place Saturday May 12, 2018. Ashley Fraser/Postmedia

Photos: Ottawa Fury vs. Atlanta United/Saturday, May 12, 2018

The Fury hope the Eastern Conference tables will look considerably different by the end of the first weekend in June with that trifecta of games against teams with non-winning records.

“I know people love the statistics and the scoreboard, but we have to play better,” said Fury head coach Nikola Popovic, who will never let his team get too high. “We have to have more of the ball.

“This season is so long, it will have ups and downs. We have to improve the way we possess the ball.”

Still, with three clean sheets in a row now in the books to go with the all-important W’s, the Fury seem headed in the right direction.

As for win No. 2, the Fury never really gave Atlanta a chance, pressuring them from the outset.

The payoff for their hard work was a goal by Dos Santos in the 26th minute, converting a nifty couple of in-close passes, the second across the goal mouth by Haworth.

Just 10 minutes later, Haworth was rewarded with a free kick after he was spun around by an Atlanta defender while on a break down the left side. The Fury veteran made no mistake, bending the kick past Atlanta keeper Nicolas Caraux from 18 yards out and the Fury never looked back.

“It was a full team performance,” said captain Haworth. “It’s all about just being more clinical. This could have been 3-0, 4-0 or 5-0.

“We know in our room we have the quality. We have known all along the results will come.”

And the team hopes Dos Santos gets hot. He didn’t forget how to score goals over the off-season despite a slow start to 2018, playing in only five of the team’s first seven games.

“Like every striker, (Dos Santos) needs the confidence of scoring goals,” said Popovic. “He is adapting to what we want to do. He is understanding what we want of him.

“It’s like speaking a new language. At the start, you don’t do very well. It’s a learning process. Then with time, you get better at it.”

HAWORTH TO DOS SANTOS … GOAL!

Carl Haworth, the play-maker, wanted to talk about the pass.

Steeven Dos Santos, as all great goal-scorers do, preferred to discuss the goal itself.

At the end of the day, all that matters is that the Ottawa Fury offence is beginning to click with a season-high pair of goals Saturday against the Atlanta United Saturday.

And it might just be a sign of things to come.

After leading the Fury FC with a team record 10 goals in the regular season, Dos Santos finally has his first of 2018 with 26 more regular-season games to go. It was also the first of the season for Haworth.

“Of course, we try as forwards to do our job,” said Dos Santos. “We’re always happy when we score.

“But we could have scored three or four.”

The signs of improvement on offence are all over the pitch.

Just a week ago, the Fury goal-differential stood at a USL-worst minus-12 through six games with just two goals all tolled.

Fast forward to last Monday in Harrisburg — and then their most recent game — and the Fury have counted three times in their past two games while holding the opposition without a goal in three straight.

The goal-differential is still minus-9, but trending positively.

“We always had the belief that the results would come,” said Haworth, the Fury captain. “We stuck to the plan.”

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